Sidebands to the lower kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillation in 4U 1636–53

In this paper we report on further observations of the third and fourth kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) in the power spectrum of the low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) 4U 1636−53. These kilohertz QPOs are sidebands to the lower kilohertz QPO. The upper sideband has a frequency  55.5 ± 1.7 Hz  larger than that of the contemporaneously measured lower kilohertz QPO. Such a sideband has now been measured at a significance  >6σ  in the power spectra of three neutron-star LMXBs (4U 1636−53, 1728−34 and 1608−52). We also confirm the presence of a sideband at a frequency ∼55 Hz less than the frequency of the lower kilohertz QPO. The lower sideband is detected at a 3.5σ level only when the lower kilohertz QPO frequency is between 800 and 850 Hz. In that frequency interval, the sidebands are consistent with being symmetric around the lower kilohertz QPO frequency. The upper limit to the rms amplitude of the lower sideband is significantly lower than that of the upper sideband for lower kilohertz QPO frequencies >850 Hz. Symmetric sidebands are unique to 4U 1636−53. This might be explained by the fact that lower kilohertz QPO frequencies as high as 800–850 Hz are rare for 4U 1728−34 and 1608−52. Finally, we also measured a low-frequency QPO at a frequency of ∼43 Hz when the lower kilohertz QPO frequency is between 700 and 850 Hz. A similar low-frequency QPO is present in the power spectra of the other two systems for which a sideband has been observed. We briefly discuss the possibility that the sideband is caused by Lense–Thirring precession.     

kHz quasi-periodic oscillations in the low-mass X-ray binary 4U 0614+09

We report on a comprehensive analysis of the kilohertz (≥300 Hz) quasi-periodic oscillations (kHz QPOs) detected from the neutron star low-mass X-ray binary 4U 0614+09 with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. With a much larger data set than previously analysed (all archival data from 1996 February up to 2007 October), we first investigate the reality of the 1330 Hz QPO reported by van-Straaten et al. This QPO would be of particular interest since it has the highest frequency reported for any source. A thorough analysis of the same observation fails to confirm the detection. On the other hand, over our extended data set, the highest QPO frequency we measure for the upper kHz QPO is at ∼1224 Hz; a value which is fully consistent with the maximum values observed in similar systems. Secondly, we demonstrate that the frequency dependence of the quality factor  ( Q =ν/Δν)  and amplitude of the lower and upper kHz QPOs follow the systematic trends seen in similar systems. In particular, 4U 0614+09 shows a drop of the quality factor of the lower kHz QPO above ∼700 Hz. If this is due to an approach to the innermost stable circular orbit, it implies a neutron star mass of  ∼1.9 M_⊙  . Finally, when analysing the data over fixed durations, we have found a gap in the frequency distribution of the upper QPO, associated with a local minimum of its amplitude. A similar gap is not present in the distribution of the lower QPO frequencies, suggesting some cautions when interpreting frequency ratio distributions, based on the occurrence of the lower QPO only.     

Rossi XTE monitoring of 4U 1636–53 – I. Long-term evolution and kHz quasi-periodic oscillations

We have monitored the atoll-type neutron star low-mass X-ray binary 4U 1636−53 with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer ( RXTE ) for more than 1.5 yr. Our campaign consisted of short (∼2 ks) pointings separated by 2 d, regularly monitoring the spectral and timing properties of the source. During the campaign we observed a clear long-term oscillation with a period of ∼30–40 d, already seen in the light curves from the RXTE All-Sky Monitor, which corresponded to regular transitions between the hard (island) and soft (banana) states. We detected kilohertz (kHz) quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) in about a third of the observations, most of which were in the soft (banana) state. The distribution of the frequencies of the peak identified as the lower kHz QPO is found to be different from that previously observed in an independent data set. This suggests that the kHz QPOs in the system shows no intrinsically preferred frequency.     

The correlations between the twin kHz quasi-periodic oscillation frequencies of low-mass X-ray binaries

We analyzed the recently published kHz quasi-period oscillaiton (QPO) data in the neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs), in order to investigate the different correlations of the twin-peak kHz QPOs in bright Z sources and in the less luminous Atoll sources. We find a power-law relation  ν₁∼ν ^b ₂  between the upper and the lower kHz QPOs with different indices: b ≃ 1.5 for the Atoll source 4U 1728-34 and b ≃ 1.9 for the Z source Sco X-1. The implications of our results for the theoretical models for kHz QPOs are discussed.     

The coherence of kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations in the X-rays from accreting neutron stars

We study in a systematic way the quality factor of the lower and upper kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations (kHz QPOs) in a sample of low-luminosity neutron star X-ray binaries, showing both QPOs varying over a wide frequency range. The sample includes 4U 1636−536, 4U 1608−522, 4U 1735−44, 4U 1728−34, 4U 1820−303 and 4U 0614+09. We find that all sources except 4U 0614+09 show evidence of a drop in the quality factor of their lower kHz QPOs at high frequency. For 4U 0614+09 only the rising part of the quality factor versus frequency curve has been sampled so far. At the same time, in all sources but 4U 1728−34, the quality factor of the upper kHz QPO increases all the way to the highest detectable frequencies. We show that the high-frequency behaviours of both the lower and the upper kHz QPO quality factors are consistent with what is expected if the drop is produced by the approach of an active oscillating region to the innermost stable circular orbit: the existence of which is a key feature of general relativity in the strong field regime. Within this interpretation, our results imply gravitational masses around 2 M_⊙ for the neutron stars in those systems.     

A detailed study of the 5-Hz quasi-periodic oscillations in the bright X-ray transient and black hole candidate GRS 1739–278

We present a detailed study of the 5-Hz quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) recently discovered in the bright X-ray transient and black hole candidate (BHC) GRS     (Borozdin & Trudolyubov) during a Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer observation taken on 1996 March 31. In total 6.6 ksec of on-source data were obtained, divided in two data sets of 3.4 and 3.2 ksec which were separated by ∼2.6 ksec. The 5-Hz QPO was only present during the second data set. The QPO increased in strength from below 2 per cent rms amplitude for photon energies below 4 keV to ∼5 per cent rms amplitude for energies above 10 keV. The soft QPO photons (below 5 keV) lagged the hard ones (above 10 keV) by almost 1.5 rad. Besides the QPO fundamental, its first overtone was detected. The strength of the overtone increased with photon energy (from < 2 per cent rms below 5 keV to ∼8 per cent rms above 10 keV). Although limited statistics did not allow for an accurate determination of the lags of the first overtone, indications are that also for this QPO the soft photons lagged the hard ones. When the 5-Hz QPO was not detected (i.e., during the first part of the observation), a broad noise component was found for photon energies below 10 keV but it became almost a true QPO (with a Q value of ∼1.9) above that energy, with a frequency of ∼3 Hz. Its hard photons preceded the soft ones in a way reminiscent of the 5-Hz QPO, strongly suggesting that both features are physically related. We discuss our finding in the framework of low-frequency QPOs and their properties in BHCs.     

Is there a link between the neutron-star spin and the frequency of the kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations?

There is a general consensus that the frequencies of the kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations (kHz QPOs) in neutron-star low-mass X-ray binaries are directly linked to the spin of the neutron star. The root of this idea is the apparent clustering of the ratio of the frequency difference of the kHz QPOs, and the neutron-star spin frequency,  Δν/ν_s  , at around 0.5 and 1 in 10 systems for which these two quantities have been measured. Here, we re-examine all available data of sources for which there exist measurements of two simultaneous kHz QPOs and spin frequencies, and we advance the possibility that Δν and  ν_s  are not related to each other. We discuss ways in which this possibility could be tested with current and future observations.     

Studies of accretion flows around rotating black holes – III. Shock oscillations and an estimation of the spin parameter from QPO frequencies

In the present communication of our series of papers dealing with the accretion flows in the pseudo-Kerr geometry, we discuss the effects of viscosity on the accretion flow around a rotating black hole. We find the solution topologies and give special attention to the solutions containing shocks. We draw the parameter space where standing shocks are possible and where the shocks could be oscillating and could produce quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) of X-rays observed from black hole candidates. In this model, the extreme locations of the shocks give the upper limits of the QPO frequencies  (ν_QPO)  which could be observed. We show that both the viscosity of the flow and the spin of the black hole a increase the QPO frequency while, as expected, the black hole mass reduces the QPO frequencies. Our major conclusion is that the highest observed frequency gives a strict lower limit of the spin. For instance, a black hole exhibiting  ν_QPO∼ 400  and  700 Hz  must have the spin parameters of   a > 0.25  and  >0.75  , respectively, provided viscosity of the flow is small. We discuss the implications of our results in the light of observations of QPOs from black hole candidates.     

Evolution of black hole intermediate-mass X-ray binaries: the influence of a circumbinary disc

We report the results of a systematic timing analysis of RXTE observations of GRS 1915+105 when the source was in its variability class θ, characterized by alternating soft and hard states on a time-scale of a few hundred seconds. The aim was to examine the high-frequency part of the power spectrum in order to confirm the hectohertz quasi-periodic oscillations (QPO) previously reported from observations from mixed variability behaviours. During the hard intervals (corresponding to state C in the classification of Belloni et al.), we find a significant QPO at a frequency of ∼170 Hz, although much broader (Q∼2) than previously reported. No other significant peak is observed at frequencies >30 Hz. A time-resolved spectral analysis of selected observations shows that the hard intervals from class θ show a stronger and steeper  (Γ= 2.8–3.0)  power-law component than hard intervals from other classes. We discuss these results in the framework of hectohertz QPOs reported from GRS 1915+105 and other black hole binaries.     

The harmonic and sideband structure of the kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations in Sco X-1

We use data from the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer to search for harmonics and sidebands of the two simultaneous kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations (kHz QPOs) in Sco X-1. We do not detect any of these harmonics or sidebands, with 95 per cent confidence upper limits to their power between ∼1 and ∼10 per cent of the power of the upper kHz QPO. The oscillations produced at these frequencies may be attenuated in a scattering corona around the neutron star. We find that upper limits to the unattenuated power of some of the strongest theoretically predicted harmonics and sidebands are as low as ∼2 per cent of the unattenuated power of the high-frequency QPO in Sco X-1.     

Type I X-ray bursts, burst oscillations and kHz quasi-periodic oscillations in the neutron star system IGR J17191−2821

We present a detailed study of the X-ray energy and power spectral properties of the neutron star transient IGR J17191−2821. We discovered four instances of pairs of simultaneous kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations (kHz QPOs). The frequency difference between these kHz QPOs is between 315 and 362 Hz. We also report on the detection of five thermonuclear type I X-ray bursts and the discovery of burst oscillations at ∼294 Hz during three of them. Finally, we report on a faint and short outburst precursor, which occurred about two months before the main outburst. Our results on the broad-band spectral and variability properties allow us to firmly establish the atoll source nature of IGR J17191−2821.     

Keck II spectroscopy of mHz quasi-periodic oscillations in Hercules X-1

We present Keck II spectroscopy of optical mHz quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) in the light curve of the X-ray pulsar binary Hercules X-1. In the power spectrum it appears as 'peaked noise', with a coherency ∼2, a central frequency of 35 mHz and a peak-to-peak amplitude of 5 per cent. However, the dynamic power spectrum shows it to be an intermittent QPO, with a lifetime of ∼100 s, as expected if the lifetime of the orbiting material is equal to the thermal time-scale of the inner disc. We have decomposed the spectral time series into constant and variable components and used blackbody fits to the resulting spectra to characterize the spectrum of the QPO variability and constrain possible production sites. We find that the spectrum of the QPO is best fitted by a small hot region, possibly the inner regions of the accretion disc, where the ballistic accretion stream impacts on to the disc. The lack of any excess power around the QPO frequency in the X-ray power spectrum, created using simultaneous light curves from RXTE , implies that the QPO is not simply reprocessed X-ray variability.     

On The Low Frequency Quasi Periodic Oscillations Of X-Ray Sources

Based on the interpretation of the twin kilohertz Quasi Periodic Oscillations (kHz QPOs) of X-ray spectra of Low Mass X-Ray Binaries (LMXBs) ascribed to the Keplerian and the periastron precession frequencies at the inner disk respectively, we ascribe the low frequency (0.1–10 Hz) Quasi Periodic Oscillations (LFQPO) and HBO (15–60 Hz QPO for Z sources or Atoll sources) to the periastron precession at some outer disk radius. It is assumed that both radii are correlated by a scaling factor of 0.4. The conclusions obtained include: All QPO frequencies increase with increasing accretion rate. The theoretical relations between HBO (LFQPO) frequency and the kHz QPO frequencies are similar to the measured empirical formula.     

A Study on the Correlations between the Twin kHz QPO Frequencies in Sco X-1

For the bright neutron star low-mass X-ray binary Sco X-1, we analyzed all updated frequencies of the twin kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations (kHz QPOs), their correlations and distributions. We found that the frequency separation of the kHz QPO peaks appears not to be a constant, rather, it decreases with increasing inferred mass accretion rate. We show that the currently available data of Sco X-1 by Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer are inconsistent with the proposals of the beat model that the frequency separation is a constant. Our conclusions are consistent with those of some previous researchers and we discuss further implications for the kilohertz QPO models.     

Morphological analysis on the coherence of kHz QPOs

We take the recently published data of twin kHz quasi-period oscillations (QPOs) in neutron star (NS) low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) as the samples, and investigate the morphology of the samples, which focuses on the quality factor, peak frequency of kHz QPOs, and try to infer their physical mechanism. We notice that: (1) The quality factors of upper kHz QPOs are low (2～20 in general) and increase with the kHz QPO peak frequencies for both Z and Atoll sources. (2) The distribution of quality factor versus frequency for the lower kHz QPOs are quite different between Z and Atoll sources. For most Z source samples, the quality factors of lower kHz QPOs are low (usually lower than 15) and rise steadily with the peak frequencies except for Sco X-1, which drop abruptly at the frequency of about 750 Hz. While for most Atoll sources, the quality factors of lower kHz QPOs are very high (from 2 to 200) and usually have a rising part, a maximum and an abrupt drop. (3) There are three Atoll sources (4U 1728-34, 4U 1636-53 and 4U 1608-52) of displaying very high quality factors for lower kHz QPOs. These three sources have been detected with the spin frequencies and sidebands, in which the source with higher spin frequency presents higher quality factor of lower kHz QPOs and lower difference between sideband frequency and lower kHz QPO frequency.     

Accretion flow behaviour during the evolution of the quasi-periodic oscillation frequency of XTE J1550−564 in 1998 outburst

Low and intermediate frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) are thought to be due to oscillations of Comptonizing regions or hot regions embedded in Keplerian discs. Observational evidence of evolutions of QPOs would therefore be very important as they throw lights on the dynamics of the hotter region. Our aim is to find systems in which there is a well-defined correlation among the frequencies of the QPOs over a range of time so as to understand the physical picture. In this paper, we concentrate on the archival data of XTE J1550−564 obtained during 1998 outburst, and study the systematic drifts during the rising phase from the 1998 September 7 to the 1998 September 19, when the QPO frequency increased monotonically from 81 mHz to 13.1 Hz. Immediately after that, QPO frequency started to decrease and on the 1998 September 26, the QPO frequency became 2.62 Hz. After that, its value remained almost constant. This frequency drift can be modelled satisfactorily with a propagatory oscillating shock solution where the post-shock region behaves as the Comptonized region. Comparing with the nature of a more recent 2005 outburst of another black hole candidate GRO 1655−40, where QPOs disappeared at the end of the rising phase, we conjecture that this so-called 'outburst' may not be a full-fledged outburst.     

Dwarf nova oscillations and quasi-periodic oscillations in cataclysmic variables – I. Observations of VW Hyi

From archived and recent high-speed photometry of VW Hyi we find dwarf nova oscillations (DNOs) occasionally present throughout outburst, evolving from a 14.06-s period at maximum to >40 s near the end of outburst. A relatively slow increase of period is followed by a rapid increase and a subsequent decrease.
Quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) are seen at periods of hundreds of seconds. For the first time, the evolution of a QPO period is seen, increasing steadily during the final decline of an outburst. The occasional presence of two DNOs, separated in frequency by the QPO frequency, suggests reprocessing of the rotating DNO beam by a 'wall' rotating progradely in the disc at the QPO period.     

Two new pulsating DB Stars from the EC survey, EC 04207−4748 and EC 05221−4725

We report the discovery of pulsations in two DB stars found in the Edinburgh–Cape blue object survey. The light curve of EC 04207−4748 appears to be dominated by a strong variation at  2235 μHz  (447 s) and its first overtone near 4475 μHz (223 s). Two other peaks appear in the periodograms of all three data sets for this star; near  2370 μHz  (∼420 s) and  3000 μHz  (∼333 s), though these are less accurately defined. EC 05221−4725 is less easy to specify with the currently available data; it appears to have one coherent frequency near  1114 μHz  (898 s), but is obviously multiperiodic and probably has several more frequencies near the one clearly observed.     

Are there three peaks in the power spectra of GX 339−4 and Cyg X-1?

Among the variability behaviours exhibited by neutron star systems are the so-called 'horizontal branch oscillations' (HBO, with frequencies ≈50 Hz), the 'lower-frequency kHz quasi-periodic oscillation' (QPO) and the 'upper-frequency kHz QPO', with the latter two features being separated in frequency by an amount comparable to, but varying slightly from, the suspected spin-frequency of the neutron star. Recently, Psaltis, Belloni & van der Klis have suggested that there exists a correlation between these three frequencies that, when certain identifications of variability features are made, even encompasses black hole sources. We consider this hypothesis by reanalysing a set of GX 339−4 observations. The power spectral density (PSD) constructed from a composite of seven separate, but very similar, observations shows evidence for three broad peaks in the PSD. If the peak frequencies of these features are identified with QPO, then their frequencies approximately fit the correlations suggested by Psaltis, Belloni, & van der Klis. We also reanalyse a Cyg X-1 observation and show that the suggested QPO correlation may also hold, but that complications arise when the QPOs (which, in reality, are fairly broad features) are considered as a function of energy band. These fits suggest the existence of at least three separate, independent physical processes in the accretion flow, a hypothesis that is also supported by consideration of the Fourier frequency-dependent time lags and coherence function between variability in different energy bands. If these variability features have a common origin in neutron star and black hole systems, then 'beat frequency models' of kHz QPO in neutron star systems are called into question.     

The applications of the MHD Alfvén wave oscillation model for kHz quasi‐periodic oscillations

In this paper, we improve the previous work on the MHD Alfvén wave oscillation model for the neutron star (NS) kHz quasi‐periodic oscillations (QPOs), and compare the model with the updated twin kHz QPO data. For the 17 NS X‐ray sources with the simultaneously detected twin kHz QPO frequencies, the stellar mass M and radius R constraints are given by means of the derived parameter A in the model, which is associated with the averaged mass density of the star as 〈ρ 〉 = 3M /(4πR³) ≃ 2.4 × 10¹⁴ (A /0.7)² g/cm³, and we also compare the M ‐R constraints with the stellar equations of state. Moreover, we also discuss the theoretical maximum kHz QPO frequency and maximum twin peak separation, and some expectations on SAX J1808.4–3658 are mentioned, such as its highest kHz QPO frequency ∼ 870 Hz, which is about 1.4–1.5 times less than those of the other known kHz QPO sources. The estimated magnetic fields for both Z sources (about Eddington accretion rate ) and Atoll sources (∼ 1% ) are approximately ∼10⁹ G and ∼10⁸ G, respectively. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)